˝The Challenges of Cultural Tourism in Europe˝ is the name of the 2nd European Tourism and Strategy Festival that will take place in Dubrovnik from 27 – 30 April 2016 and will gather representatives and delegates of European cities in order to share their experiences and to develop new strategies to improve the functioning of one of the most important and most advanced branches of industry in Europe – tourism. During these days, Dubrovnik will become the European headquarters for tourism and will present participants of the festival its rich historic and cultural heritage through a series of events, while at the fair and kind of celebration of tourism that will be held on the last day in the Lazaretto, the other countries participating in the festival will present their destinations to the public. The concept of the festival encompasses three components: the Competition, the Forum, and the Tourism Fair.

 

In the Competition part of the event, cities will present their tourism campaigns in one or more, out of a possible six, categories:

 

Best Range of Print Media Award

Best Audiovisual Media Award

Best Digital Media Award

Best Events Strategy Award

Best Range of Spin-off Products Award

Best Future Heritage Award - for the best contemporary achievement in creating future cultural heritage

 

The key topic of the planned Forum will be ˝Living with Heritage, Creating the Future˝, where key topics related to the candidacy of Dubrovnik as the European Capital of Culture 2020 have been connected, such as how to ˝democratize access to heritage˝, ˝the significance of contemporary artistic creation˝, and ˝participation of citizens in the governance of cultural property˝. The coordinator of the Forum will be Lovro Kunčević and the main speakers will be Lieven Bertels, Artistic Director of the Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018, Enara Garcia, one of the project managers of San Sebastian European Capital of Culture 2016, and Paolo Verri, director of the Matera 2019 Foundation.

 

A tourism fair that will show presentations and will bring together key stakeholders in European tourism will be held in the Lazaretto on the last day of the Tourism and Strategy Festival. The presentations may relate to gastronomy, traditions, customs, festivals, home improvement, and creative skills.